Published at 11th of February 2026 8:23 am

Chapter 1495 Long Game

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At an unknown location in the city.

In a dimly lit chamber deep underground, a handful of Wardens from the Preservationists faction sat around at a long stone table.

Tense silence permeated the room as they read through the documents Kenny had left behind. Parchments were spread out in stacks, marked with names, dates, routes, and coded symbols.

No one spoke as each realization settled in one after another.

Lebu stood before them, his hands clasped behind his back. His face was calm, but not cold. Sorrow lingered in his eyes, yet beneath it was unmistakable pride.

Pride in the boy who had seen too much, understood too much, and still chosen to act.

As the Wardens turned page after page, their expressions gradually darkened.

One of the Wardens broke the silence first, "It isn't just one faction," he said, tapping the page with his finger.

"These are five separate traitorous groups operating inside the Brotherhood, each of them compartmentalized."

Another Warden flipped a parchment over, his expression darkening.

"And all of them are hiding behind shell intermediaries… merchant guilds, shipping companies, charities. Fronts clean enough to pass audits, but dirty underneath."

A third leaned over. "Funding routes, too," he added. "Illegal channels siphoned through black market exchanges, then laundered back into the Brotherhood-approved operations. Whoever built this knew exactly how our accounting blind spots work."

One of them swore quietly as he read the next section.

"These trade manifests… look at the damned routes! Weapons, magical components, living cargo, all of it moves through regions controlled by the Cult before disappearing north of the border."

Another page turned.

"And this…" the old man's voice grew grim. "These are internal deployment reports, our organization's patrol schedules, safehouse rotations. This is classified intelligence! And it's being handed over in full!"

A Warden further down the table gnashed his teeth in rage. "Which explains the ambushes. The failed operations. The disappearances." He paused, looking up. "They knew where we'd be before we even got there."

A few seconds later, another person spoke, his voice slightly shaky.

"There are names here. Rising operatives. People being groomed for operations. Some already compromised. Others flagged as… 'high potential for control'."

The room suddenly felt colder.

"And these files," another Warden added, "psych profiles, debts, family leverage. They were building dossiers on our own people!"

Finally, one of the Wardens reached the last stack of parchments and stopped. His hands tightened on the page.

"Children," he murmured. "Young ones… they're being trafficked. Taken under the guise of aptitude screening and moved north of the border. Destination unknown."

Silence engulfed the table once again. It was hard. It was suffocating.

One of them couldn't help but subconsciously gulp. He turned to Lebu and asked in a low voice, "That boy… Kenny… he uncovered this all on his own?"

These documents truly were legit. The information contained within them could not be faked, most certainly not by an Acolyte like Kenny, who didn't have high enough security clearance.

Lebu nodded.

"He was on his own," he said softly. "He knew what this would cost him. And he still went through with it."

Another Warden felt a strange feeling bubble inside his heart as he asked, "Kenny left behind instructions on how to find this evidence with you… before he was kidnapped?"

"…Yes." Lebu nodded. "He planned for it. He assumed he would not come back."

One of the Warden's sighed heavily, his lips curling into a bitter smile. "That boy knew exactly what kind of danger he was walking into, and still he chose to move forward."

"He not only gathered intelligence," said another as he rubbed his eyes. "He secured it and made sure it would reach the right hands even if he died."

"Most operatives twice his age wouldn't even have the foresight to do this. He protected the information better than we ever could have protected him."

"You trained him well, Lebu…"

Lebu didn't respond. His lips quivered ever so slightly as he offered a simple nod.

"Kenny embodied the tenets of not just the Preservationists, but the Brotherhood itself. He embodied what we were meant to be."

"If this intelligence brings down the traitors, it'll be because the boy understood the mission better than the men who killed him."

No one argued.

If they succeeded, it would truly have been because of Kenny.

The discussion dragged on for a long time. Every Warden weighed every possible response against the scale of what Kenny had uncovered.

Some argued for immediate action, while others argued for secrecy.

But in the end, they all reached the same conclusion.

Moving too fast would waste everything Kenny had died to secure. They agreed on the long game. They didn't have a Mana Core Magus leading them, after all. They did not have the strength for a swift victory.

Compromised agents would be monitored and quietly misled. Supply chains would be disrupted without revealing the source. And selective evidence would be leaked to fracture the traitors' alliance from within.

At the same time, contingency plans would be prepared to rescue trafficked children the moment an opening appeared.

Only when the traitorous factions were isolated and weakened would the truth be exposed. That way, Kenny's sacrifice wouldn't end in a single, dramatic clash.

It would end in a complete purge!

Just as they were hammering out the final details of their long-term strategy, heavy pounding echoed from the chamber door.

The Wardens all frowned at once.

They had given strict instructions that they were not to be disturbed under any circumstances. But the fact someone had ignored their order could only mean one thing…

Something serious must have happened.

A moment later, the door swung open, and an Agent hurried in, his face pale from panic and shock.

"My Lords," he said urgently. "The leaders of the Reformers and the Seekers of Balance have emerged!"

The room went still.

The Wardens and Lebu had looks full of disbelief etched on their faces.

These two Mana Core Magi had remained in the shadows ever since the Brotherhood fractured. And now, all of a sudden, they appeared right as the Preservationists had secured incriminating evidence against the traitorous factions.

The timing was impossible to ignore.

The Wardens didn't even need to voice the question forming in their minds. They all felt the weight of implication, the sense that something had just shifted at the highest level.

Could this be a coincidence?

The Agent gulped nervously and continued, his next words ringing like thunder in everyone's ears:

"They're requesting an immediate audience with the leadership of the Preservationists!"

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